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Philips and Dutch care organization Cordaan partner to offer 24/7 remote care to seniors with dementia living at home

Combination of new technology and at-home care will allow seniors to continue to live independently at home

June 8, 2016

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHIA) and Dutch care organization Cordaan today announced a collaboration to support people with dementia to age more safely in their own homes. During eHealthWeek 2016, the two organizations signed a declaration of intent to implement CareSensus in the Amsterdam region.

CareSensus is a new solution using smart in-home sensors and powerful analytics for remote lifestyle monitoring. It helps care providers to identify changes in seniors’ daily living patterns and offers detailed insights in a senior’s wellbeing, including the growing population with dementia who live alone at home. This supports care organizations to deliver 24/7 personalized and preventative home care.

Cordaan will be the first Dutch care organization that will implement this new solution that brings the benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT) into the homes of seniors. Philips launched its remote care sensor platform in the United States last week together with senior care franchise network Right at Home.

“One in five people in the Netherlands is confronted with dementia in their lifetime. We all will have to deal with it in a way,” said Martin van Rijn, State Secretary for the Ministry of Health in the Netherlands. “Personalized care and support for people living with dementia is of the utmost importance. These individuals want to remain active participants in society for as long as possible. It’s exciting to see Philips and Cordaan team up to support people with dementia through the use of eHealth technologies. It shows using eHealth is not a dream of the future, but can already improve the lives of people today. I hope more technology companies and care organizations will follow this great example.”

“People with dementia are very vulnerable and as their condition progresses they are faced with increasing complications. This makes it more difficult for them to continue living independently,” said Jeroen Tas, CEO, Connected Care and Health Informatics, Philips. “Our goal at Philips is to combine smart technology with impactful personal care. By using CareSensus, Cordaan will be able to pick up signs of people’s health deterioration at an early stage. The care team is then able to respond by taking effective preventive action.”

CareSensus uses discrete passive sensors that are linked to an online platform. With the explicit approval of the patient, the non-camera-based sensors are fitted at strategic points in the home, such as the refrigerator, front door, bathroom, bedroom and living room. These sensors monitor the client remotely 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The data they gather is stored in Philips HealthSuite Cloud platform and analyzed using smart algorithms. This creates a personalized blueprint of the patient’s behavior, enabling subtle changes to be detected early on. If a patient in the early stages of dementia leaves the house at very unusual times, this may, for example, be an early indicator that they are starting to wander. This could represent an increased risk to the patient’s safety through dangers like falls or traffic accidents. If the senior starts using the toilet more frequently than usual, this can also indicate the onset of a bladder infection, which is a common, yet severe, complication among this group of patients.

“By leveraging Philips’ CareSensus technology, we aim to offer seniors a way to stay in their own home longer, rather than having to consider a nursing home or care home,” said Eelco Damen, CEO of Cordaan. “It offers a degree of safety. This makes the client more independent and provides reassurance for family caregivers. We also expect CareSensus to make it possible to put care in place more effectively and to reduce the cost of care. We firmly believe that this will enable us to create a breakthrough innovation in the provision of care. This is going to be the care of the future.”

After announcing CareSensus in the United States, Philips’ first step will be to adjust the solution to Dutch guidelines in advance of market introduction in the Netherlands. Cordaan will also start using Philips Medido to support elderly with chronic conditions that need to take multiple medications a day. Medido is a connected medication dispenser for use in the home, which helps chronic patients and home care providers to ensure that the right medication is taken on time. Research has shown that 96 percent of patients who use the Medido adhere to the prescribed medication schedule. Furthermore, both organizations will start investigating how digital remote care technologies can optimize collaboration between the patient at home and the first, second and third-line care while also improving the quality of the care that is provided.

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About Royal Philips:

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. The company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2015 sales of EUR 16.8 billion and employs approximately 69,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

About Cordaan

Cordaan aims to help anyone in need of care, support or assistance. Elderly people with dementia or physical ailments, children and adults with learning disabilities and people with mental health problems. Cordaan provides care to around 20,000 people in 120 locations in every district of Amsterdam and Diemen, as well as in Huizen and Nieuw-Vennep. We do this with a staff of almost 6,000 employees 2,300 volunteers. In its capacity as one of the largest care organisations in Amsterdam, Cordaan aspires to lead the way in developing long-term care in the country’s capital. More information can be found at www.cordaan.nl.